The international line-up of the Doc Co-production Market & Pitching Forum, stands out as a showcase of exceptional quality, presenting world premieres of 15 projects of rare originality and narrative power. The selected projects testify to outstanding creative research, with bold stories able to engage with current affairs, memory, and imagination, while crossing genres and continents. Each title reflects both high production values and a unique authorial voice, the result of a selection made by a committee of international professionals: Horia El Hadad, Sr. Commissioning Producer, Al Jazeera English (Qatar); Bjorn Jensen, Creative Director & Founder, Ginger Foot Films (Germany); Fabio Mancini, Commissioning Editor, Rai Documentari (Italy); Pamela Martinez, International Sales Agent, Limonero Films (Spain); Myriam Weil, Head of Documentary, Federation Studios (France); Hiroshi Yokota, Director and Producer, NHK Enterprises, INC (Japan).
The documentaries and series present innovative ideas and fresh perspectives, demonstrating how the language of nonfiction today serves as a powerful tool for exploring society and contemporary history. The line-up includes 11 feature documentaries, 2 TV one-offs, and 2 docuseries. Italy is represented by 6 projects, while the remaining titles are international co-productions involving a total of 14 countries, among them Ukraine and Lebanon.
This year’s selection unfolds as a journey of world premieres, offering stories that will first come to light at MIA: BASEBALL ISLAND (Netherlands, produced by New Ams Film Company, directed by Lyangelo Vasquez) reveals Curaçao’s surprising passion for baseball; BUILDING VENICE (Italy, produced by EiE film, directed by Katia Bernardi) takes us into the hidden heart of the trades that safeguard the city; CARETAKERS (Germany/Hungary/USA, produced by OTHER FILMS, directed by Ambrus Hernadi) explores the lives of those who migrate across borders to care for the elderly; ENCOUNTER (Germany/Perù, produced by Caral Filmproduktion, directed by Jose Chavez Boggio), reconstructs Peru’s wounded memory through an intimate, familial lens. The projects address crucial themes: identity and denied justice in I WILL NEVER MARRY – THE BURNING STORY OF PALMINA MARTINELLI (Italy, produced by Salice Production, directed by Antonio Palumbo); Italian resilience and creativity in THE MASERATI CHRONICLES (Italy, produced by Cromo, directed by Edoardo Vojvoda) ; the social role of art in REFLECTIONS OF GAUGUIN (Finland, produced by Pig and Horse Productions, directed by Marton Jelinko) and SOTTSASS: THE POETRY OF THINGS (Italy/USA, produced by Basement HQ, directed by Mattia Ramberti); groundbreaking scientific research that reshapes our vision of the past in SPINOSAURUS: THE DINOSAUR THAT SWAM (France, produced by 3L Pictures, directed by Grégory Maitre, Olivier Mercier); and our relationship with nature in THROUGH SILENCE AND WIND (Italy, produced by Albolina Film, directed by Marco Zuin), set in the Alps. Docuseries such as HIJACKED LIFE (Lithuania/Estonia, produced by Make it Happen, directed by Andrius Lekavicius) interweave history and emotions that span decades and continents.
Geographical and thematic diversity is a true strength: from Europe to Latin America, from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, the selection offers an authentic, multi-layered portrait of the contemporary world. Works such as IMAN LE CAIRE (France/Canada, produced by Beall Productions, Urbania, directed by Olivier Lemaire) and EDITION 96 (Lebanon, Produced by OOBconcept, directed by Ahmad Naboulsi) shed light on stories of courage and the struggle for civil rights; THE LAWYER (Poland, produced by MADANTS, directed by Maciej Bochniakexplores) the nuances of justice in Africa and Europe; while TSYBLI (Ukraine/Italy, produced by DYKHAI Production, directed by Lesya Kharchenko) portrays love that endures even in the most fragile places.
2025 DOC SELECTION COMMITTEE
Horia El Hadad | Sr. Commissioning Producer, Al Jazeera English (Qatar)
Bjorn Jensen | Creative Director & Founder, Ginger Foot Films (Germany)
Fabio Mancini | Commissioning Editor, Rai Documentari (Italy)
Pamela Martinez | International Sales Agent, Limonero Films (Spain)
Myriam Weil | Head of Documentary, Federation Studios (France)
Hiroshi Yokota | Director and Producer, NHK Entreprises, INC (Japan)
2025 DOC & FACTUAL ADVISORY BOARD
Luigi Del Plavignano | Director Rai Documentari, Rai (Italy)
Chiara Messineo | Executive Producer and Director, (UK)
Cecilie Olsen | SVP Global Content Acquisition, Non-Scripted, ITV Studios (UK)
Mikael Österby | Head of Factual SVT International, SVT (Sweden)
Fabrizio Zappi | Director, Rai Cultura (Italy)
Selected Projects for Doc Co-Production Market 2025
Baseball Island
Feature Doc
Netherlands
BASEBALL ISLAND is a portrait of the nascent island nation Curaçao seen through the lens of baseball. The film follows Liga Pabou’s team of eleven- and twelve-year-old boys over the course of a season as they chase the dream of the Little League World Series. In a landscape of sharp... more
Main Producers: Sander Verdonk (New Amsterdam Film Company), Thomas den Drijver (New Ams Film Company)
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALBuilding Venice
Docuseries
Italy
Arts and Culture, History
Building Venice is a documentary series that reveals the hidden side of the world’s most photographed city. Beyond the tourists and postcard views, Venice is an architectural miracle kept alive by a network of artisans, acrobatic builders, and underwater workers who face extraordinary challenges every day. From the muddy depths... more
Main Producers: Davide Francesco Valentini (EiE Film)
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALCaretakers
Original title: Gondozók
Feature Doc
Germany, Hungary, USA
Human and Society
Caretakers is a character-driven documentary that follows the lives of Zsuzsa in Germany and Beata in New York, two Hungarian women working as live-in caregivers for the elderly. Both have left their families behind in search of financial survival. They are absent at home, yet indispensable in someone else's private... more
Main Producers: Rita Balogh (Other Films Kft)
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALEdition 96
Original title: الإصدار 96
Feature Doc
Lebanon
History, Other
Suzanne, a 67-year-old former tennis champion from Tripoli, lives quietly among trophies and fading memories. Her life unfolds in fragments, joy, repression, resistance, tracing her struggle to define herself beyond patriarchy, war, and societal constraint. At 15, she trained under Labib, her coach-turned-fiancé, whose influence shaped both her technique and... more
Main Producers: Omar Said (Rec Entertainment)
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALEncounter
Original title: Encuentro
Feature Doc
Germany, Peru
Global Issues, History, Human and Society
In 1990, two members of the Peruvian Communist Party-Shining Path (PCP-SL) were deeply involved in an insurrection that began in the Andes and is gradually encircling Lima. During the actions in Lima, one of the militants is captured and killed months later during a prison riot. The other is also... more
Main Producers: Jose Chavez Boggio
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALHijacked Life
Original title: Uzgrobtas gyvenimas
Docuseries
Lithuania, Estonia
Global Issues, History, Human and Society
In 1970, Lithuanian small-time criminal Pranas Brazinskas smuggles sawed-off shotguns onto a Soviet domestic flight and, with the help of his terrified 15-year-old son Algirdas, hijacks the Aeroflot jetliner and orders it east of the Black Sea. One stewardess—19-year-old Nadia Kurchenko—is killed, several crew members are wounded, and the aircraft... more
Main Producers: Jurgita Rakauskaite (Make it Happen)
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALI will never marry - The burning story of Palmina Martinelli
Original title: Non potrò più sposarmi - La brutta storia di Palmina Martinelli
Feature Doc
Italy
Biography, Human and Society, Other
On November 11th 1981, the screams of a young girl pierce the silence of an emergency room in Fasano, Puglia. Her name is Palmina Martinelli, she is 14 years old, and her body is burned over 75% of its surface: she is in agonizing pain but still conscious. She screams:... more
Main Producers: Cosetta Lagani (Salice Production)
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALIman Le Caire
TV One-Off
Canada, France
Arts and Culture, Biography, Global Issues, Human and Society
Donald Trump'scomeback to the White House has stunned much of the world. Reshuffling the political, economicand social cards, the first days of the new administration have been accompanied by repressiveideological orientations that directly threaten many parts of the American population. People ofimmigrant background, foreign students and the LGBTQIA+ community in... more
Main Producers: Jean-Marie Nizan
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALReflections of Gauguin
Feature Doc
Finland
Arts and Culture, Other
An enigmatic painting signed "P. Gauguin" has troubled its owner, Italian philanthropist StefanoCanepa, for over two decades. Scientific tests link its techniques and materials to Gauguin’s era,but its authenticity remains unresolved due to questionable provenance and exclusion fromGauguin’s Catalogue Raisonné. Filmmaker Salla Kozma embarks on a gripping journey through theart... more
Main Producers: Salla Kozma (Pig and Horse Productions)
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALSOTTSASS: The Poetry of Things
Feature Doc
Italy, USA
Arts and Culture, Biography, Human and Society
This feature documentary explores the visionary life and legacy of Ettore Sottsass—designer, artist, photographer, and founder of the radical Memphis Group. From postwar Italy to global design stardom, Sottsass challenged conventions and reshaped visual culture, inspiring icons like David Bowie and Karl Lagerfeld. With rare archival footage and intimate interviews... more
Main Producers: Francesco Crespi (Basement srl)
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALSPINOSAURUS THE DINOSAUR THAT SWAM
TV One-Off
France
Science
What if dinosaurs didn’t just rule the land? The Spinosaurus aegyptiacus fossil, discovered in Egypt over a century ago and later lost to WWII bombings, remains one of palaeontology’s greatest enigmas. Today, German-Moroccan scientist Nizar Ibrahim investigates across the Sahara, European labs, and museum archives worldwide to prove it was... more
Main Producers: Lucile Moura (3L PICTURES), Lola Adamo (3L PICTURES)
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALThe Lawyer
Original title: Prawnik
Feature Doc
Poland
Human and Society
Brian Mwenda, a brilliant young Kenyan lawyer, wins case after case—defending suspected criminals, saving the innocent, and rising to legal stardom. He becomes a law firm partner and even wins an impossible case before a military tribunal. But then, the shocking truth emerges: Brian never finished law school. He forged... more
Main Producers: Klaudia Śmieja Rostworowska (MADANTS), Kinga Tasarek (MADANTS)
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALThe Maserati Chronicles
Feature Doc
Italy
History, Human and Society, Pop Culture
A journey of struggle, loss, and rebirth, told through the lives of those whose ambition and failure shaped a legend.Three chapters, six protagonists. Past and present converge in Maserati’s turbulent story.Derek Hill, long overshadowed by his father’s racing legacy, reinvents himself as a stunt driver, mirroring the Maserati brothers, who,... more
Main Producers: Edoardo Vojvoda (CROMO), Chiara Leschiutta (CROMO)
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALThrough silence and wind
Original title: Per silenzio e vento
Feature Doc
Italy
Arts and Culture, Global Issues, Human and Society
The documentary explores the profound bond between human beings and the mountains, following writer Matteo Righetto, a keen observer of the Alpine world, on a journey of reflection to discover a new definition of mountaineering. To go beyond the individual relationship with the mountain and instead explore its evocative and... more
Main Producers: Roberto Cavallini (Albolina Film)
Read the full project description on MIADIGITALTsybli (working title: The Gray Zone)
Original title: Tsybli
Feature Doc
Italy, Ukraine
Global Issues, Human and Society
Set in the riverside village of Tsybli near Kyiv, the film enters a palliative ward for gravely wounded Ukrainian soldiers. Young men from different walks of life are now between life and death. They are surrounded by their mothers, wives, children, nurses, fellow soldiers and doctors. The clinic was founded... more
Main Producers: Federico Quintana (Freelance)
Read the full project description on MIADIGITAL
